Half a Heart, Half a Chance
by twin demyx
Summary: Half of Riku's heart has been taken, and Demyx gets a second chance at life. How long till everything goes wrong? [I'm no good at summarys. Please just read it.]
1. Chapter 1

Darkness danced around the fallen Nocturn. He was 'dead', according to logical sense; not that he every really thought about anything logically before. Being destroyed by the Keyblade Weilder, and thrust into eternal darkness for all eternity, really made one change his chain of thought. All he really wanted was his heart back, thus was his only reason for joining the Organization, but unfortunatly that plan bombed. Not that he really cared about that any more. Now all he wanted was a second chance.

_Is that really what you want, Demyx?_

"Yah," he said, thinking that he was talking to himself again. Darkness made you do things like that.

_Then wake up! Open your eyes and live again!_

"Your crazy Demyx..." There was no reply, and Demyx thought that maybe his mind didn't fell like talking to him right now. But it came back.

_Wake up before you drown!_

"Before I dro-" He never finnished his sentence. Suddenly, he couldn't breath and water filled his lungs. Desperatly, Demyx began swimming in the direction he'd hoped was up. Light glimmered from above.

_"What is this?"_ He thought, still swimming.

_I've given you a second chance. Soon, you will remember nothing. Everything as you once knew...it will no longer exsist._

He kept on reaching for the light. Air was becomming limmited and he felt like his lungs were going to collapse. The pain was too much to bare as Demyx felt himself sinking. The air left his lungs and he was on the brink of unconsiousness.

_"So much for...my second chance..."_

The last thing he saw was a large splash and a person, disconfigured by the water, seemed to be reaching for him. Then everything went black...

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Riku and Sora had just gotten back to the islands and back to their old routines. The message from King Mickey had said something about "new trouble brewin" and to wait on the islands. And they did so, returning to school, hanging out with old friends, and whatnot. Being back at the islands was a little weird though. Espacially for Riku. Everyone acted as if they'd never left. When they talked, thay talked like he had always been a most trusted friend who'd never left; not someone who'd almost destroyed all the worlds, almost killed his two best friends, or the one who'd given into the darkness.

He found it amazing how nieve they were. No one had any clue that anything other than the islands existed. One would think that all of this knowledge, would make him feel important somehow. But it didn't. It made him feel secluded if anything. Even when Riku was around Sora and Kairi, who shared the same knowledge, he felt no different. Maybe there was something wrong with him...

"You ok?" Sora asked.

Riku snapped back into reality. Shaking his head and smiling, he replyed, "Yah, just thinking."

"Right..." Sora said, hesitantly.

"You guys want to go to the island today?" Kairi asked comming up behind them. She held three ice cream bars, handing one to Sora and offering one to Riku.

"Sure, let's go!" Sora took off towards the boats. Riku accepted the ice cream and followed behind the two. Sora and Kairi began chatting about their day at school. Riku kept quiet and just listened because he had nothing to share. He found it almost depressing. Ever since they returned, he found himself drifting farther away from his friends. Most times, he felt alone, even around others. Just alone.

Once on the boats, they began rowing to the island. A gentle breeze lightly pushed the boats towards their destination. The sun, in all its splender, reflected off the indigo waves. Kairi and Sora, who were both ahead of him, splashed each other playfully with the end of their oars. Everything was so peaceful and calm. It seemed like there was nothing in the world could break this tanquility. But something did...

Riku suddenly found himself in great pain. It felt like his heart was being ripped in half. He grabbed his chest and yelled out in agony. A voice entered his thoughts.

_Half of your heart will be taken for another._

"Wh...what?" Riku asked quietly through clamped teeth.

_I'm taking half of your heart for the life of another._

"Why...?" He questioned, thinking how much it hurt and wondering if he should be frightened of this voice.

_You need to fear not. The pain will leave soon. Promise. As for "why"...you will learn soon enough._

As promised, the pain soon ceased. Then did Riku notice two boats on both sides of his and the concerned faces of his friends. He assured them that he was ok by showing a brief smile.

"What was that?" Kairi asked with relief written on her face.

"Yah, you really scared us," Sora added.

"I…I don't know," Riku said, wondering himself what had just happened. The voice said that it was taking half of his heart but it didn't feel like anything was missing, "Let's keep going."

"Are you sure? Maybe we should head back," Sora said.

"On a day like this? Get real," Riku replied, splashing him with the cool water. They continued onward.

Kairi mentioned something about how they first met on the island. Sora laughed and began talking about how they found the secret hide out shortly after. The two began talking on and on about childhood memories. Riku excluded himself from the conversation. For some reason, he couldn't remember any of those things. He started searching his memories for the farthest thing he DID remember, only coming up with leaving Castle Oblivion, which wasn't that long ago. Riku felt a cold sensation in his heart and the voice returned.

_Do you hear that?_

A soft sound began beating in his ears, at first like that of a normal heartbeat; then gradually it started slowing. _'Da-dum…da-dum...da-dum…'_

_It's dying…save it. For only you can. Follow your heart…_

Riku stopped rowing and looked out over the expansion of blue water. He couldn't understand what exactly he was supposed to do, or even why he should listen to the voice. The island wasn't far ahead, and his friends were already there, waiting for him. He could just ignore everything and go to them, acting like nothing had happened.

_'Da-dum...da-dum……da-dum……'_

But he didn't. Instead, Riku allowed his heart to lead him, away from his friends and the island, and farther into the ocean. The water was visibly getting deeper. Something (and not the mysterious voice) was calling to him. The beating in his ears was getting louder and louder with each passing second but also slower and slower. Soon, it was almost too loud to bear. A second voice, much unlike the first, entered.

_"So much…for my second chance…" _

Not really knowing what he was doing, Riku dove into the water. Little could be seen as he let himself sink. A faint shape took form in the water as a realization hit him: It was a person! The body wasn't moving, just falling limply, and the heartbeat (as Riku finally decided it was) had almost stopped. Frantically, he swam deeper. He reached out for the body; afraid that maybe he was too late…

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This is my first fanfic...EVER! So please don't bash...Comments of any kind are welcome!


	2. Chapter 2

O.O I wasn't really expecting any success with this fic… completely shocked

Anyway, I've been reading some other people's fics, to see how things flow around here. I discovered some good habits that I need to get used to. To start, I never put a Disclaimer. So here it is:

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts**

Second, I'd like to thank those of you who added this story to your Favorites list and Alerts list. Thank you!

And last (but definitely not least), I'd like to thank those of you who reviewed. It makes me really happy to know that you enjoyed the story enough to share your thoughts. Many thanks!

Welp, that's it. Enjoy!

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Sora and Kairi had gotten there before Riku, and they knew that. They knew that he'd fallen behind for some reason, but they thought they knew it was because he was secluding himself again. Since they had returned to Destiny Islands, he'd often do that. Sora felt that his friend was slipping into the darkness again and, as hard as he tried, couldn't seem to bring him back to the light. He decided that maybe all Riku needed was time to adjust. Maybe he'd come back on his own.

"What is he doing?"

"Huh?" Sora asked, looking up from what he was doing. He'd been preoccupied by tying up their small wooden boats to the dock, and Kairi kept watch of Riku, just incase what had happened earlier happened again.

Riku was farther out into water, just where it got really deep. He was too far away to tell for sure, but he seemed kind of dazed. Suddenly, he stood up, and either fell into the water or jumped. Kairi gasped and both of them waited, with breath held, for him to come up. A few seconds later, it seemed like no such luck.

As quick as lightning, Sora had his boat back on the water. Rowing as fast as his arms would allow, he made his way towards Riku's boat. The waves lightly pushed against him, making it feel like he was going no where, but soon enough he was next to the abandoned float.

"Riku!" he cried, searching the deep blue liquid for a sign of life. A seconds time seemed to equal an eternity as he repeated the name over and over again, "Riku! Riku!"

Kairi appeared a few meters away, mimicking Sora's process. As if the ocean breathed life, a hand grabbed the side of her boat and a boy emerged from the water's depth. He carried a lifeless body.

"Help me," Riku demanded weakly, attempting to lift his load out of the water. Kairi pulled the limp body into her boat, nearly tipping it over in the process, and gave him a questioning look with her terrified eyes.

"…He's…still alive…" Riku managed, "…has to be."

He was completely drained of energy and the possibility that he might pass out due to lack of oxygen was high. It wouldn't have been surprising if he let go of her boat and slipped back into the water.

Kairi nodded understandably and began CPR. She plugged the unconscious boy's nose with her thumb and index finger, then placed her mouth on his and forced air into his mouth. Then she took both of her hands, placing them on his chest, and pushed down on his heart five times, before repeating what she was doing the first time.

Sora came up by Kairi and helped Riku into his boat. Both watched intently as she attempted to bring the boy to life. Within a matter of seconds, (though it seemed like forever and a day) the boy jerked awake, coughing up water and painfully gasping for air.

"D…Demyx?" Sora stuttered with utter shock.

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…Ok, so this chapter isn't as long or as well written as the other, but it's all I've got. Please note that I was grasping at straws while writing and was completely stumped on how to go about bringing Demyx out of the water alive. By the way, someone mentioned making this a Demyx x Riku fic. I thought about it, and it could work. What do you guys think? Demiku or not? R&R


	3. Chapter 3

There are a lot of strong opinions on making this Demiku or not. Unfortunately, the vote was even and that's not a lot of help. I guess we'll just have to see how it plays out. If it becomes a Demiku fic, there won't be love at first sight and there won't be much fluff (because, honestly, it's completely unrealistic!). If it becomes a non-Demiku fic, the two will just end up being really good friends (maybe like a brotherly bond?). Anyway, thank you all for your support and I hope you keep reading even if what you're hoping for doesn't pan out. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, (Suggestions!!) etc., feel free contact me (Through PM or my e-mail: Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts!**

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Back on the island, the four were gathered around a small fire in the secret hideout. The sun was on the verge of disappearing behind the horizon and the wind had cooled. Night approached steadily. A great silence hung in the air when Sora had finished telling his friends about the former Organization member. Neither Kairi nor Riku knew how to respond as they glanced at the sleeping form. Earlier, they had wrapped some blankets around Demyx and Kairi allowed his head to rest on her lap.

"But," Kairi whispered, as to not awaken the exhausted boy, "Nobodies don't have hearts."

"I know," Sora said in a hushed tone, wondering what she was getting at.

She placed a hand on Demyx's chest and a second later nodded as if she had just confirmed something, "He has a heart."

"_I'm taking half of your heart for the life of another."_

Riku felt himself pale. It suddenly occurred to him what the voice had been talking about. Half of his heart was given to this Nobody so he could live. Then, that would make him a somebody…right? A chilled wind traveled through the hideout. Being that he was still a little damp, a slight shiver was unavoidable.

"You ok Riku?" Sora asked. Kairi commented on how pale he was.

Riku's thoughts swirled. Should he tell them? What if they completely rejected him? Though, he should have been able to tell his friends anything…right? Wrong. There was heavy sinking feeling in his heart, as if he was betraying his friends. Wouldn't he feel the same if he did tell? Somehow, it felt like he was trapped.

"Yah," Riku finally replied, adding, "It's getting late."

"What do we do with Demyx? We can't just leave him here," Kairi stated.

Another scilence presented itself. They just sat there, staring into the fire. It crackled and danced, creating living shadows on the cave walls. The many pictures etched into stone seemed like menacing little monsters, ready to attack anyone who dared get near.

"I'll stay."

"Huh?"

"I'll stay," Riku repeated, "You guys go home and get some sleep."

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"We're not really leaving him, are we?" Kairi asked when they'd gotten back to mainland.

"Of coarse not," Sora replied smiling at her, "We're getting more blankets and stuff. Then we're going back."

"Ok," she said, relived by his answer.

She didn't like leaving Riku alone. Lately, it seemed like he was depressed and instead of getting better, it got worse. What worried her the most was that he might one day turn suicidal. Losing a friend wasn't high on her list.

"I'll grab some food and whatnot if you'll grab some extra blankets. Then I'll meet you back on the island."

"Alright," Kairi agreed. The two ran off in different directions.

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Riku watched Demyx as he slept. His chest moved up and down, like that of typical breathing. Everything that had happened today, in Riku's opinion, was far from normal. Then again, when had a normal day passed since he'd first left the islands? Life just seemed far from normal.

It just got weirder though. Now Riku shared a heart with a former Nobody, who'd try taking over Kingdom Hearts, and worked for Xemnas. None of this was normal.

'_Definitely not,' _he thought, shaking his head. With a heavy sigh, he leaned against the stone wall, feeling himself drifting to sleep. He was so tired and the darkness of night was welcoming. Leaning his head back, he slipped into a deep slumber.

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Kairi was first to make it back to the island. The wind had picked up some, making it hard to see with her hair blowing in her face. After tying up her boat, she made her way to the hideout, carrying an armload of blankets.

She was surprised to see Riku asleep already. Then again, he _did_ have kind of a rough day. She smiled and gently tossed a blanket on him. He grumbled and slightly shifted his position. This made her smile even more.

He looked to calm and peaceful. Typically, or what it seemed to Kairi, he looked lost. Like a small animal that'd lost its way home. But not now. At that moment, Riku looked so…innocent. Like he found peace in his dreams.

Kairi spread another blanket on Demyx before sitting by the fire to wait for Sora. She wrapped a third blanket around herself and listened to the wind howl outside.

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…Ok, so nothing really happens here. It's pretty much a bunch of BLAH! XP I'm so ticked at myself because I couldn't do any better. –sighs- Oh well…the next chapter will be better (Promise!). Anyway, R&R!


	4. Chapter 4

Ok, I've decided. We're going to let the story flow on its own and what happens…happens (please don't be mad!). If it doesn't come out a Demiku, I promise to write another one that is. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been really busy lately. Thanks for all of your reviews! Keep them coming! (Please!!!)

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Sora made it back to the cave, dripping wet and shivering. He carried a few grocery bags full of canned food and nonperishable whatnot. Demyx was still asleep, as was Riku, and Kairi was sitting by the fire wrapped in a fuzzy pink blanket. She smiled when she saw him.

"I take its raining outside?"

Sora nodded and placed the food on the ground, "Yeah."

Kairi stood up and placed her blanket around his shoulders. Sora plopped on the floor and started digging around the bags. He then handed her a can of cocktailed fruit and a can opener. Kairi sat down next to him and gladly accepted the food. Soon, she had it opened and was eating with the plastic fork Sora had given her.

"Stupid thing," He growled, trying to open another can of fruit.

Without any prevail, it slipped from his hands and landed on the floor with a loud clank. Then it proceeded to roll across the floor, hitting Demyx's foot lightly. Sora grumbled and was about to retrieve it when the sleeping figure moaned and began to move. The Melodious Nocturne sat up slowly and instantly placed both hands on his head, intertwining his fingers in his hair.

"Ow…" He mumbled, "Headache."

Sora jumped to his feet and took a fighting stance, just in case things turned ugly. He dropped the can opener and it fell to the ground with a second loud clack. Demyx looked at the two, looking completely confused, first at Sora, then Kairi, then back up at Sora.

"How'd I get here?" he asked.

"I don't know," Sora replied, ready to summon his keyblade at any moment, "How _did_ you get here?"

"I'm not sure. Last thing I remember is…defeating Ansem…and then going to look for you."

"What?" Sora asked, dumbfounded and confused.

Demyx ignored Sora's last remark and picked up the can of fruit. He turned it around in his hand, reading the label. A hungry look washed over his face.

"Mmm…cocktail," he said, licking his lips. Glancing at the can opener on the floor, he asked, "Hey Kairi, can you hand me that?"

"Um…sure…" She said, reaching over and giving it to him.

Demyx, who had better luck opening the can than Sora, popped a grape in his mouth with his gloved hand. He looked satisfied as he seemingly savored the flavor. The other two just stared, unable to grasp what was happening.

"H-how do you know Kairi?" Sora stuttered, letting his guard down.

"What are you talking about?" Demyx asked, this time putting a cherry in his mouth, "I've known her as long as you have."

Sora glanced at Kairi, who just shrugged her shoulders, and turned back to the other teen, "But…that doesn't make any sense."

"What do you mean it doesn't make sense?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow, "Has it been _that_ long since I've seen you last?"

"Uh…?"

"Don't you remember? The three of us…we were best friends. We wanted off the islands, and to see different worlds. Then I began craving the darkness and the whole deal with Ansem came into play. Then there was that thing Castle Oblivion and Organization XXI…"

"Wait, hold it," Sora said, cutting off Demyx, "I don't know about Castle Oblivion, but you didn't do any of those other things. And you _were _part of Organization XXI."

Demyx laughed, "No I wasn't. Why would I join that a bunch of loons? All I wanted to do was wake you up so we could go back to the islands."

Sora was about to protest, but Kairi stopped him by gently asking, "Do you know who you are?"

The teen eat another peace of fruit, giving Kairi a questioning look. It seemed like he was trying to decide whether she was being serious or not. After a few seconds, he answered hesitantly, "Yeah…"

"Then tell us," Kairi said softly, "Who are you?"

Demyx smiled and answered like it should have been the most obvious thing ever, "Riku."

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I know you wanted longer chapters, Axel of Oblivion, but I have to stop here because 1.) it's for dramatic effect, 2.) to keep all of you guessing, and 3.) because I have no clue what's going to happen next… (- sweatdrop -) Next chapter will be longer. Anyway, please review!!! I live off of your reviews and need them for inspiration to keep writing!!!


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